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President Donald Trump said Opec “is essentially a monopoly,” even as he credited his own “talent” for having brought down oil prices.

“Four months ago, oil hit $83 a barrel," Mr Trump told reporters in the Rose Garden after meeting with Congressional leaders to try and reach a deal on the partial government shutdown. Oil “was heading to $100 and then it could have gone to $125".

Mr Trump repeated his statement from earlier this week that his phone calls made the difference in bringing down the oil price, adding: “After I made some phone calls to Opec and the Opec nations - which is essentially a monopoly - all of a sudden, it started coming down,” he said. "Didn’t happen by luck, it happened through talent.”

Legislation, known as "Nopec," has been repeatedly introduced in both houses of Congress in recent years that would allow the SUS Justice Department to file antitrust suits against the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, amending the 129-year-old Sherman Antitrust Act. US. Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim told members of a House Judiciary subcommittee last month that the administration “continues to study” the legislation.